War of Unification
The War of Unification, sometimes simply The Unification, was the campaign in which Ulien Quendlös conquered and united Naldere. Supported by his fellow Sharasdiri warlords, the young Ulien fought a long conflict against the kings and lords of the kingdoms of Naldere for over forty years. The war was long and bloody, though many of the conquered rulers swore fealty instead of choosing death. The young warlord had surprised many of his detractors, and conquered all of Naldere by the age of forty-five. Though Quendrian is a largely united realm, traces of the old ways and ancient realms can still be seen throughout the region. Precursor Sharasdir As the inherit ruler of the Baron of Sharasdir, Ulien Quendlös had ambitions to rule Naldere. He had the backing of lesser nobles, men who were grizzled with fighting, and had served his father before him. However it would take twenty years before Ulien could muster the support and the army to launch his invasion of Naldere. He accepted oaths of fealty, and declared himself King of Naldere. In 243 Age of the Sun, he mobilised his forces at the border with Eohdain, at least 20,000 strong. The War Eohdain (245 - 248 AoS) The Kingdom of Eohdain was ruled over by proud horse riders and warriors, who called themselves Horse Kings. The borders of Eohdain comprised of majority of the Eldmarche, including some small parts of northern Ilyria. The capital city of Eohdain was Korrikhall, named and built by the ancestral patriarch of the Eohdain, Korrik Horsehand. The herald of Eohdain was a rearing horse on red and black. The final Horse King of Eohdain was Eorläng, who when Ulien Quendlös, Baron of Sharasdir, marched into Eohdain refused to submit his lands to this self-proclaimed king. Eorläng, who commanded many able riders, fought Ulien's armies on the fields between 245 - 248 AoS. The final conflict culminated in the Siege of Korrikhall, where Eorläng was slain by the Sharasdir warlord and the lands of the Eohdain surrendered to him. Ulien named Wardynn Corvyll, a Eohdain general who had survived the Siege of Korrikhall, as the Warden of the Eldmarche, the new name Ulien had given his newly acquired realm. Kingdoms of Ilindriel (248 - 250 AoS) Following his successful conquest of Eohdain, renamed the Eldmarche, the twenty-eight year old Ulien, backed by his elder Sharasdiri generals and his Eldmarchen ward Wardrynn, poised his mind on the southern coast of Naldere, mainly the three kingdoms located in the area. King of the Tûatha Danaan Daenûrdan allied with Alster king Rûanbeth Alster and Ulaíd king Roínall Thorne, and met Ulien's armies on the field of battle on numerous occasions. The Danaani, Alsterish and Ulaídish armies were well-trained and wielded superiorly made weapons, but Ulien's generals proved skillful, Alyric Cormarinth dealt a grevious blow to the combined armies of Roínall and Rûanbeth. The Kingdom of Tûatha Danaan stoically defended its lands, even when its allies had fallen, until Ulien marched on Tûrnathan, and with the aid of Alyric, besieged the city. The Sharasdiri starved the Tûatha Danaan, until Daenûrdan finally surrendered, and was stripped off his title, but instilled as a lesser lord. Kingdom of the Coast and the Sea (250 - 252 AoS) Before the War of Unification began in 243 Age of the Sun, the Coastlands were ruled as a kingdom, by the King of the Coast and the Sea. The Kingdom spanned the entirety of the Coastlands and a small part of western Ilindriel, as well as a series of unclaimed islands to the west, including the southernmost of the Ilagaire Islands. The capital of the Kingdom of the Coast was called Hulstercastle, named after the first King of the Coast and the Sea, Hulster Saltstone. The herald of the Kingdom of the Coast was a waterhorse, a mythical creature important in Coastlander belief. The final King of the Coast and the Sea was Haldon Saltstone, a descendent of Hulster, who proved to be a worthy rival and adversary to the young Sharasdir baron Ulien Quendlös. Haldon was old and wise, a trained soldier and captain, while Ulien was young and brash, and had barely conquered Eohdain without loosing many. The Kingdom of the Coast was extensive and powerful. Upon conquering the kingdoms of Alster, Tûatha Danaan and Ulaíd in 250 AoS, Ulien had enough men and momentum to invade the Kingdom of the Coast. He carved a path through the realm, until he finally arrived at Hulstercastle at the head of his army. He pushed the Coastlanders into the Frozen Sea, and when their fleet tried to flee he burned their ships, and Haldon Salstone was drowned with his bannermen. In an act to prove the Coastlanders were defeated, Ulien burnt Hulstercastle to signify the end of Salstone dominance in the region, and named Haros, Haldon's surviving son, Warden of the Coast, only when he accepted to forsake the name of Saltstone, taking the name Highwater in stead. Category:Wars Category:Kingdom of Quendrian